It was goodbye to Fes that lived up to and beyond my expectations. Again, there wasn’t enough time to enjoy Fes at leisure. I could have spent the entire day just in the fascinating Medina. On the bus by 8:30 a.m. for a long day’s drive to Erfoud, but first a stop at the Marjane Supermarket…View image… to buy picnic lunch makings and whatever else a person felt was necessary. Marjane is one of Morocco’s largest supermarket/hypermarket chains and the group were the first shoppers of the day in this huge and immaculate mart. ex-Marine and I felt that another bottle of Moroccan red wine was a necessity along with cheese and bread. The wine has either “softened” a bit or our standards have dropped tremendously. Either way, the wine has begun to grow on us.

Turning south today, the bus climbed steadily into the dramatic landscape of the Middle Atlas, historically, an empty quarter. And, even if it is considered “empty,” there was still a huge billboard for McDonald’s (also known as McArabia in Morocco) along the highway. The alpine summer pastures are used by herders but the poor soil and harsh climate make the Middle Atlas one of the least densely populated parts of Morocco, It was a short 60 km/37 mile ride through the mountainous landscape to Ifrane, called the “Switzerland of Morocco.”

Modern Ifrane is a planned community built in an urban city design with chalet-style summer homes and used as a weekend destination for the French and wealthy residents of Fes since it is so close. Ifrane is 1665m/5,460′ in altitude, has snow in the winter and a ski resort close by. Ifrane also has the most expensive and prestigious private university in Morocco. Al Akhawayn University is an English-language and American-curriculum public university. According to Aziz, the best job opportunities in Morocco are offered to graduates of Al Akhawayn University…View image.

Even the King of Morocco has one of his 24 palaces throughout Morocco in Ifrane. A 20-minute stop for coffee, toilet break and to walk around eyeballing the gardens, and tree-lined incredibly clean streets filled with gorgeous mansions (I’d settle for one of these any day) before hitting the road again…View image. For those of you with a perception of “Morocco” as filthy dirty (which is isn’t), visit Ifrane without one speck of litter that brings new meaning to the word, clean.

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